Courier Friends to Follow

Hinesville man wins $100K

Special to the Courier

POSTED:August 2, 2010 10:29 a.m.

ATLANTA — A Hinesville man who acted on a hunch recently when he bought a lottery ticket is certainly glad he followed his instinct. Bernard Buono, 70, won a $100,000 top prize playing the new Georgia Lottery game Instant KENO!Pit Stop, at 1011 Airport Road in Hinesville, sold the winning ticket.“I just had the feeling,” Buono said. With his wife Rosa Buono at his side, he scratched the ticket in the store.“I told my wife we’d won and she thought I was joking, really joking,” he said.The Buonos have three adult children, five grandchildren and a great-grandson. Buono, now retired, served 21 years in the Army and worked 25 years in computer sales.“Winning this will take care of all my bills,” he said. “We probably will take a trip.”Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $11.9 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs.